Level 4 · Sixteenths & Fills
4-4 - The traveling accent
Accent control: same notes, one loud note that moves.
How to practice it
Eighth-note ghosts, but each bar accent a different count: bar 1 accent '1', bar 2 accent the 'and' of 1, bar 3 accent '2', and so on through the bar, then start over. Everything else stays ghost-quiet.
Suggested take: ~90s · start 65 BPM → pass around 80 BPM
1
g
&
g
2
g
&
g
3
g
&
g
4
g
&
g
65 BPM
Start at 65, exercise passes around 80. Legend: B bass · S snare · g ghost · - rest
Tips
- • Announce the accent out loud before each bar on early attempts.
- • The accent is one loud finger-snap inside a quiet stream - surgical.
- • Off-beat accents (the 'and's) are the payoff; give them extra reps.
Watch out for
- • Neighbors of the accent getting louder too (accent 'leaking')
- • Tempo hiccup at each accent
- • Losing count of which bar you're in - count!
Record your take
Aim for ~90s. Put the phone ~1m away, facing the front plate. You'll get Rafa's feedback within a minute of submitting.
Up next after this: 5-1 - Tresillo - the Latin key